Description

The architectural design for Bourns Hall on the University of California Riverside campus physically separates the experimental research area with laboratories and workshops from the scientists’ study rooms and administration offices. The differentiated building volume respects the scale of the campus context. At the same time, the building ensemble with its poig­nant and crisp appearance fosters a strong sense of identity.

The two three-storey volumes enclose two differently designed courtyards: cobblestones give one of them an urban character while the other one rather bears the characteristics of a natural green open space. On the first floor both buildings are linked via a footbridge that not only serves as an interior circulation route but also as the highly frequented main access to the university campus. The two entrances create a strong architectural feature, which links both volumes and also forms a plausible entrée to the following ”grand avenue” connecting the new building with the institutes further south.

As highly sensitive equipment is used in the laboratories, vibration had to be strictly controlled. To ensure vibration-free working conditions, the load-bearing structure is made of in-situ concrete. Furthermore, the building is located in an area threatened by earthquakes, necessitating a rigid floor system for very high rigidity. With a view to constantly changing requirements of scientific research today, the wing containing the laboratories and workshops also had to provide maximum functional and spatial flexibility and convertibility. This has been achieved by means of large continuous spaces, wide spans, double walls for mechanical services, and supplementary secondary and central service cores.

The exposed concrete finishes – thoroughly detailed with horizontal and vertical joints and bands and manufactured with smooth plywood formwork – became an essential architectural element. The reinforced concrete frames and cross-walls received red brick infillings, brick being the predominant building material on the campus. The north and south façades, in contrast, have curtain walls made of aluminium and glass. Despite its distinctly differentiated architecture the building complex with its clear arrangement of structures and the simple but elegantly and painstakingly crafted details appears rather unobtrusive. The colour scheme mediates and integrates the new buildings into the existing building fabric of the campus.

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Originally published in: Hardo Braun, Dieter Grömling, Research and Technology Buildings: A Design Manual, Birkhäuser, 2005.